Happy Birthday America! New York City Celebrates With Macy’s 4th Of July Fireworks Show

NEW YORK - JULY 4: Fireworks explode in the air, as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey on the Hudson River during the Macy's Firework display on July 4, 2009. It was the first time since the year 2000 that the fireworks have exploded over the Hudson River and not the East River. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images)(Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — America celebrated its 236th birthday this Fourth of July with plenty of excitement surrounding the big Macy’s fireworks spectacular.

Transit changes were in effect as well: NJ TRANSIT trains were operating on a weekend schedule, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North were on a Sunday schedule and NYC Transit was running on a Saturday schedule.

There was extra service on the 1, A, C, E and L subway lines to help deal with the crowds heading to the fireworks show. Streets were shut down and not accessible along the river front in the towns of Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Fort Lee and North Bergen.

Designers of the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks show spent two weeks prepping for the big night.

“Each shell has its own mortar placed on the barge, strategically located in order to burst in the sky to create some of the best effects across the sky to match the music,” fireworks designer Gary Suza.

The soundtrack that accompanied the fireworks was chosen in part by the public, who voted online for some of their favorite tunes. The playlist features songs by Taylor Swift, Lee Greenwood and Ray Charles.

The show, which was broadcast live on 1010 WINS, the official radio station of Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, involved 20 roughly 70,000 pounds of explosions.

Groups of friends who spent hours waiting for the show to start told CBS 2’s Dave Carlin that it was well worth the wait.

“Being with my friends experiencing this with my friends, being in New York is great,” said Jordan Leigh of Bushwick.

Some viewers had earned special seats for the show, CBS 2’s Hazel Sanchez spoke with wounded veterans who were enjoying the fireworks from the deck of the Intrepid.

“It was pretty spectacular, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Mark Litynski.

Officials are also warning you not to put on a fireworks show of your own. Fireworks can explode too soon or too late, causing serious injuries. Fireworks are illegal to buy and possess in New York State.

Since July 1, the FDNY has made 19 arrests and seized $31,000 of illegal fireworks.